The victory of UDF candidate Cyriac Thomas in the Peerumade Assembly constituency— achieved with a record-breaking margin — has created an existential crisis for the Left parties in the region. In a historic shift, Mr Thomas secured 56.8% of the total votes polled, winning by a margin of 27,634. Out of 1,22,652 total votes cast, Mr Thomas secured 66,972, while LDF candidate K. Salimkumar secured only 42,038. NDA candidate Ratheesh Varakumala managed to get 9,218 votes. According to party leaders, a major switch of votes from the Left to the UDF resulted in this unprecedented win.

Mr. Thomas confirmed this trend. “The typical margin in this constituency is below 5,000 votes. My father, K.K. Thomas, held the previous record in 1987 with a margin of around 9,000, but normally it is much tighter,” he said. “In 2016, LDF’s E.S. Bijimol won by only 318 votes, and in 2021, Vazhoor Soman won by a margin of 1,835. This record margin indicates that I received votes from the Left, leading to this historic victory. It shows that people from all parties have accepted me as their MLA. I will work for the welfare of everyone in Peerumade.” said Mr Thomas.

Party sources noted that the UDF’s dominant performance is causing an existential crisis for the CPI, which has held the seat for the past 20 years.

UDF wave cited

Meanwhile, CPI District Secretary and candidate K. Salimkumar attributed his defeat to a “UDF wave” across the State. “The party has not yet formally inspected the reasons for the failure, but the wave was the primary factor,” said Mr. Salimkumar. However, others within the Left alliance disagree with the LDF’s stand. In a social media post, Mathew Varghese, State Vice-President of the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) affiliated to the CPI, said that all five LDF candidates in the district would’ve failed even without a Statewide wave favouring the UDF. .

“The government failed to solve land-related issues, and 32 different government orders have ruined the lives of the people in Idukki,” Mr Varghese wrote. “The Forest department’s attempts to extend forest cover in the district also contributed to this failure.” he noted.

A CPI leader said that internal friction played a major role. Nearly ten party leaders left the CPI in Peerumade in the months leading up to the election. “The CPI state leadership announced a candidate without discussing it with local leaders, bypassing senior names in the constituency,” the leader said. “The leadership has made such blunders before. Furthermore, there was no one to effectively manage election operations, and fielding a candidate from outside the constituency further alienated voters.” he said.